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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Cabinet to restore NT$1.25tn proposal
A soldier rides atop a tank during a military exercise in Hualien County on Sunday last week. Photo: An Rong Xu, Bloomberg
FULL AMOUNT? With NT$780bn approved by the legislature and NT$210bn slated to fund drones, NT$260bn remains for items such as the president’s ‘T-Dome’ plan
By Chung Li-hua / Staff reporter
The Executive Yuan is to restore its proposed NT$1.25 trillion （US$39.01 billion） special defense budget, which was cut by the opposition, through next year’s central government budget and this year’s supplementary budget, a source said yesterday.
The legislature on Friday approved the government’s annual budget for this year after a record delay and shortly before it is expected to receive next year’s spending proposal for review.
The Executive Yuan is expected to approve next year’s central government budget on Thursday and simultaneously pass a record supplementary budget of about NT$200 billion for this year, the source said.
The supplementary budget would include defense spending, they said.
The opposition-controlled legislature in May passed the third reading of a special defense budget of NT$780 billion. The bill fell short of the NT$1.25 trillion requested by the Cabinet.
The source said that President William Lai （賴清德） and Premier Cho Jung-tai （卓榮泰） have repeatedly called for the funding proposed by the Cabinet to be provided via the “special bill, supplementary budget and annual budget,” with the full amount to be restored.
After deducting the NT$780 billion approved by the legislature and the NT$210 billion proposed in the Executive Yuan’s special act on procurement of indigenous unmanned vehicles for national defense, NT$260 billion remains, the source said.
Part of the remainder would be allocated through annual budgets over several years, while the rest would be from supplementary budgets, they said, adding that as a result, funding has been earmarked in next year’s central government budget and this year’s supplementary budget.
The Chiang Kung （強弓, “Strong Bow”） missile defense system, which has drawn public attention, is also included, ensuring that Lai’s proposed “T-Dome” defense initiative would proceed as planned, the source said.
Meanwhile, in response to the war in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is expected to seek subsidies for gasoline and diesel, while the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would seek subsidies for domestic airlines, intercity bus operators and taxis, the source said.
The Ministry of Agriculture is also expected to seek subsidies for fertilizer, they said, adding that the additional funding is estimated to exceed NT$100 billion.
Increases in professional and supervisory allowances for military personnel, civil servants and public-sector teachers that took effect last month are expected to require an additional NT$10.7 billion, they said.
Increased allowances for elderly farmers, the National Pension program and six major social welfare subsidies, which are to be retroactively applied from last month, require NT$21.5 billion, the source said.
Other supplementary budget items include NT$700 million for measures to stabilize hog supplies amid an African swine fever outbreak, NT$300 million for preparatory work for a proposed universal allowance for children from birth through age 18, NT$7 billion for post-disaster reconstruction work following the Mataian River （馬太鞍溪） barrier lake breach in Hualien County, and about NT$200 million in additional subsidies for administrative expenses for legislators’ aides and village wardens, they said.
Other government agencies are also expected to submit requests for supplementary funding based on the final version of the central government’s budget approved by the legislature, they added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
